Keywords
state budget
welfare state
social expenses
Ministry of Social Care
How to Cite
Number of views: 76
Number of downloads: 47
Abstract
In the period of the Second Polish Republic, social policy became an important field of activity for public authorities. It was distinguished by a high level of awareness of the prevalent social problems, progressive legislation, and advanced management. The only missing element was sufficient financing. In the budgetary policy of the Second Polish Republic, social expenses were of minor importance. For the most part of the period, they amounted to approximately 3% of all expenses. The Ministry of Social Care was underfunded, which was evident in nearly every aspect of its activity. Hence, if one wonders if the origins of the Polish welfare state can be traced back to the Second Polish Republic, the answer must be “no”. Although extra funds (spent on tackling unemployment, pensions, or disability benefits) were found outside of the ministerial budget, the arguments presented in this article only confirm the hypothesis presented above.
References
Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland (Dz. U.) 1921, 1924, 1933, 1934.
Preliminarz Budżetowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na rok 1926 (Budgetary estimations for the year 1926] (1926), Ministry of Treasury, Warsaw.
Preliminarz… [Budgetary...] 1927/28 (1927), Ministry of Treasury, Warsaw.
Preliminarz… [Budgetary...] 1928/29 (1928), Ministry of Treasury, Warsaw.
Preliminarz… [Budgetary...] 1934/35 (1934), Ministry of Treasury, Warsaw.
Preliminarz… [Budgetary...] 1938/39 (1938), Ministry of Treasury, Warsaw.
Preliminarz… [Budgetary...] 1939/40 (1939), Ministry of Treasury, Warsaw.
Sejm, term III, form 800.
Sejm, term IV, form 300.
Sejm, term IV, form 700.
Sejm, term V, form 100.
Senate, term II, form 18.
Minutes of the 71st session of the Sejm, term IV, February 17, 1938, paragraph 37.
Minutes of the 11th session of the Senate, term III, March 6, 1931, paragraph 54.
Minutes of the 61st session of the Senate, term III, February 28, 1934, paragraph 42, 61.
Minutes of the 74th session of the Senate, term III, March 2, 1935, paragraph 48.
Minutes of the 12th session of the Senate, term V, March 16, 1939, paragraph 3.
Sprawozdanie z działalności Funduszu Bezrobocia 1933 [The report on the activity of the Unemployment Fund 1933] (1934), Unemployment Fund, Warsaw.
Sprawozdanie z działalności Funduszu Pracy za okres od 1 kwietnia 1936 r. do 31 marca 1937 r. [The report on the activity of the Labor Fund from April 1, 1936 to March 31, 1937] (1937), Labor Fund, Warszawa.
Zamknięcia rachunków państwowych za lata 1924-1936/37 [Summary of national expenditure for the years 1924-1935/37] (1928-1938), Ministry of Treasure, Warsaw.
Zamknięcia rachunków państwowych za lata 1944/1945-1949 [Summary of national expenditure for the years 1944/1945-1949].
Mały Rocznik Statystyczny 1939 [Short statistical yearbook 1939] (1939), Main Statistical Office, Warsaw.
Bornstein-Łychowska M. (1931), Walka Rządu Polskiego z bezrobociem w okresie ostatniego kryzysu [Polish government’s combat against unemployment during the last crisis], “Praca i Opieka Społeczna” [Labor and Social Care] issue 3, p. 358-366.
Fundusz Pracy w latach 1933 i 1934 [The Labor Fund in the years 1933 and 1934] (1934), The Labor Fund publication, Warsaw.
Grata P. (2013), Polityka społeczna Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej. Uwarunkowania - instytucje - działania [Social Policy in the Second Polish Republic. Conditions - institutions - actions], Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego.
Grata P. (2014a), Problemy skarbowości II Rzeczypospolitej [Fiscal problems in the Second Polish Republic] [in] Między stabilizacją a ekspansją. System finansowy w służbie modernizacji (z warsztatów badawczych historyków gospodarczych) [Between stability and expansion. Financial system at the service of modernization (from research workshops of economic historians], ed. Łazor J., Morawski W., Wydawnictwo Gajt, Wrocław, p. 387-411.
Grata P. (2014b), The system of social care in the Second Polish Republic, “Charity, Philantropy and Social Work” no. 1, p. 69-79.
Grata P. (2015), Social privileges in the Second Polish Republic, “Studia Historiae Oeconomicae” vol. 33, Poznań, p. 19-35.
Grata P. (2016), Na drodze do publicznej służby zdrowia. Meandry polityki zdrowotnej Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej [Towards public health care. Problems of health care policy in the Second Polish Republic], “Polityka i Społeczeństwo” [Politics and Society] issue 3 (14), p. 129-143.
Grata P. (2018), Czas przełomu. Polska polityka społeczna w latach 1944-1950 [Time of breakthrough. Social policy in Poland in the years 1944-1950], Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego, Rzeszów (in preparation).
Jarosz-Nojszewska A. (2010), Świadczenia rentowe dla inwalidów wojennych w II RP w latach 1918-1926 [Disability benefits for war veterans in the Second Polish Republic in the years 1918-1926] [in] Gospodarka i społeczeństwo a wojskowość na ziemiach polskich [Economy and society vs. the military system in Poland], ed. Głowiński T., Popiński K., Wydawnictwo Gajt, Wrocław, p. 203-214.
Jarosz-Nojszewska A. (2013), Ubezpieczenia robotnicze w Polsce w latach 1918-1939 [Labor insurance in Poland in the years 1918-1939] [in] Od kwestii robotniczej do nowoczesnej kwestii socjalnej. Studia z polskiej polityki społecznej XX i XXI wieku [From the labor problem to the modern social problem. Studies on the Polish social policy of the 20th and 21st century], ed. Grata P., Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego, Rzeszów, p. 26-40.
Klott M. (1937), Inspekcja Pracy w Polsce, [The Labor Inspectorate in Poland], Ministry of Social Care publication, Warsaw.
Księżopolski M. (1999), Polityka społeczna. Wybrane problemy porównań międzynarodowych [Social policy. Selected problems for international comparison], “Śląsk” Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Katowice.
Muszalski W. (2004), Ubezpieczenie społeczne. Podręcznik akademicki [Social insurance. Academic textbook], Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.
Nadolska A. (2003), Polityka budżetowa [Budgetary policy] [in:] Polityka gospodarcza [Economic policy], ed., Ćwikliński H., Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, Gdańsk, p. 106-128.
Nakoniecznikow Klukowski B. (1938), Przegląd najbardziej aktualnych zagadnień z zakresu polityki opiekuńczej [The review of the latest problems in social care], “Praca i Opieka Społeczna” [Labor and Social Care], issue 1. p. 18-26.
Polityka społeczna państwa polskiego 1918-1935 (1935) [Social policy in Poland 1918-1935], Ministry of Social Care, Warsaw.
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Paweł Grata
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.